McCormick price target lowered to $93 from $102 at Bernstein

Bernstein analyst Alexia Howard lowered the firm’s price target on McCormick (MKC) to $93 from $102 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. McCormick’s Q3 results and outlook were something of a mixed bag, the firm says. Organic sales growth of 2% was similar to last quarter, with the Consumer segment seeing stronger performance than Flavor Solutions, which remains under pressure as larger CPG players continue to see sales declines. The adjusted gross margin also fell by about 120bps year-over-year as rising input costs and incremental tariffs take their toll, Bernstein adds. But, on a somewhat brighter note, the outlook for the important fourth quarter is stronger as the company expects a solid holiday season and gross margins are expected to improve to flat to modestly positive next quarter, the firm adds.